Adam Carolla currently occupies the top spot on PodcastOne’s “Top 25 Podcasts.” The network also broadcasts Dennis Miller’s daily Miller Time musings.So what happens when these two name-brand stars are combined? Well, there’s no actual first episode of the weekly PodcastOne offering PO’DCast yet. But per the screen grab on the right, the 30-second promo for the show debuting this weekend has vaulted to the top of the iTunes Comedy Podcasts chart, as folks check in and subscribe.

In the 30-second tease, Miller explains that as far as “whose voice most mirrors what’s in my head, it’s this cat…” E.g. Carolla. Beginning Saturday, we’ll all get to hear what the pairing sounds like.

On a recent Miller Time, the host revisited with guest Kenny G the days in the 1980s when the saxophonist opened for Miles Davis and got Davis’ seal of peer approval. “You would think that the critics would take that and not be so hard on my music,” G suggested with a laugh. Responded Miller: “Once Miles tells you you’re OK, I would elicit the disapproval of the critics. I would feed off of it.”

G also related the hilarity of now accompanying his son Max to Megadeth concerts. “Picture me inside the mosh pit…” he told Miller. “All these metal heads are going, ‘Hey man, my mom really loves your music. Can I take your picture?'”

The podcasting network, home to Snooki and Adam Carolla, boasts 120 million monthly downloads.

Serial is the media story of 2014. The podcast series, which investigates a 15-year-old murder case, has averaged 3.1 million listeners each week. More notably, it’s become an Internet phenomenon, with dozens of articles, recaps, conspiracy theories, and parodies. Twitter is obsessed. Reddit is obsessed. There are discussion groups. There are tip jars. There are social media gaffes. It has captured the Internet’s fascination the same way that, before now, only a television show could. The success of Serial, combined with the launch of Gimlet Media, a podcasting startup (producing a podcast show about starting a podcast startup, no less), is enough for the media to declare we are in a podcasting renaissance.

Should the radio industry be scared? Not yet. Terrestrial radio still reaches 92% of Americans, and only 15% listen to podcasts. Within that sliver of listeners, Serial’s audience is small potatoes.

The radio listeners of the world won’t switch to podcasts overnight. But the shift from scheduled programming to on-demand content that is happening in TV also applies to radio. Just ask Norm Pattiz, a radio industry veteran who started Westwood One, a syndicator of talk radio shows, and grew it into a half-billion-dollar company. He’s a radio guy for life—“I’ve been a cheerleader of radio for 35 years. I’m not changing my stripes,” he says—but he believes the only way to grow in radio industry is to embrace digital. He saw an opportunity in podcasts, because, unlike radio, which depends on broadcasters to pick up your shows, podcasts have their own distribution.

What’s more, the big radio companies have ignored podcasting, because “it isn’t a major needle-mover for them,” Pattiz explains. Two years ago, podcasting was “pretty much a mom and pop business,” he says. New York ad agencies weren’t buying ads on podcasts, even though podcasts report very high engagement among listeners.

The engagement part is important: “[These] were people who had actively gone out and downloaded this. If you get one million listeners who are active listeners, the engagement for an advertiser is pretty much off the charts,” Pattiz says. That’s how Serial’s advertiser, MailChimp, has spawned its own set of jokes and memes online.

But Serial is only one show with one advertiser. (In later episodes, the show added additional sponsors; it also asked listeners for donations.) Major brands haven’t poured money into podcasts because they aren’t prepared to write small checks to individual shows. Big brands have huge budgets and need to buy at scale.

That’s what Pattiz’s company, PodcastOne, hopes to fix. The company aggregates shows and sells ads in bundles across their combined audiences. It shares the revenue with its programmers. PodcastOne partnered with talent agencies to bring on celebrity podcasters such as Snooki, Dr. Drew, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Radiolab, and Penn Jillette. (Pattiz pitched the idea to Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel during a Los Angeles Lakers game, where they have adjacent seats.)

PodcastOne now offers 200 different shows that are downloaded 120 million times per month. (This equates to 100 million listens, the company says.) Pattiz has 200 more potential shows in the hopper, but the company is rolling them out slowly to meet demand.

That’s where Serial comes in. The show’s fame has translated to more interest in the category of podcasts from listeners and advertisers. “It’s been great for the business because it’s bringing attention to podcasting,” says Pattiz, who is a Serial listener.

The next step is to make the podcast experience even more like radio. Today, the company announced it will partner with the Associated Press to insert up-to-date news briefs at the beginning of each of its podcasts. When a podcast is downloaded, the most recent 60-second audio news clip from the AP will be inserted at its beginning. The majority of podcasts are listened to within a few hours after they’re downloaded, according to Pattiz. There’s a business proposition here, too: Radio networks are increasingly abandoning the news, Pattiz says, so advertisers that want to be positioned alongside news content have fewer options.

In its first year, PodcastOne was happy to snag six major brand advertisers. This year, it landed 36. Pattiz says he expects the podcast category to be worth $100 million next year, with PodcastOne taking the biggest share of it. It’s nowhere close to the $16 billion radio industry. But it might be the future of audio.

If you’ve never known otherwise, you may not even think about how much syndicated programming has changed the face of radio programming, personalities, and content delivery. But in 1976, when Norm Pattizlaunched Westwood One, there weren’t satellite receivers at every station, let alone FTP sites for distributing content. Syndicated programming wasn’t common like it is today and it surely wasn’t widely recognized as an effective advertising vehicle. But over the course of his 35 years at Westwood One, Pattiz played a major role in changing the game by growing the popularity of syndicated programming among listeners, while upping its value for advertisers. Today, it is a staple of the industry.

Now he is on the front lines again, championing another new method for delivering audio content to consumers: podcasting. With PodcastOne, Pattiz has created a place where a star-studded group of hosts create compelling content about a nearly limitless variety of topics consumed by rabid fans. And where there is an audience, there are advertisers, with whom Pattiz is working to educate about the value of podcasting, or as he calls it, on-demand audio.

So, for this week’s innovation Friday, we asked Norm to share reflections on his time at Westwood One, insights about the world of podcasting, thoughts about how the radio industry can adapt to the changing audio landscape, and, most importantly, what his beloved Los Angeles Lakers need to do to return to the glory days of “Showtime.”

JM: Let’s start with Westwood One. During your time there, what was the most innovative thing the network did and what inspired it?

NP: I founded the company and was there for 35 years, so narrowing it to one thing is impossible.

There’s producing, distributing, and monetizing our first program, The Sound of Motown, a 24-hour weekend special and producing individual programs for my first four advertisers which really got us moving. Getting into the concert business, building three state-of-the-art mobile recording studios and crisscrossing the nation was a big deal. And hiring KMET’s “The Burner,” Mary Turner, was important both because she’s been my wife for 30 years and she knew Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, The Who and every other major rock star. Her show, Off the Record, is the longest-running music interview show on radio, though no longer hosted by her.

Going public in 1984 and acquiring the Mutual Broadcasting System, the NBC radio networks, and Radio and Records are right up there, too. Our management deal with CBS was huge for Westwood One shareholders, and becoming a multi-billion dollar company with revenues of over half a billion dollars annually certainly made me smile. Being a middle class kid from West L.A. who figuratively gave birth to this company, which still exists decades later and opened the doors to other opportunities I could have never imagined, has been quite a trip.

JM: What led you to identify the opportunity for PodcastOne?

NP: A mutual friend introduced me to Kit Gray who was representing podcasts and selling them to advertisers. He reminded me of myself when I started Westwood One. He was working out of his apartment doing everything himself and having good success, though on a small scale.

Podcasts, which are really radio/audio on demand, looked interesting. Upon further investigation, I was surprised to find there were no major players in the space. No one had the critical mass or deep enough pockets to go to Madison Avenue and create demand. I got very excited. It’s Westwood One for the digital age without the restrictions of radio formats, program directors’ individual tastes or the difficulties of navigating radio programming during a time of ultra-consolidation, heavy debt loads and 400-pound gorillas.

JM: So what makes a great podcast?

NP: There are a ton of things that make a podcast great. But to be great for me it has to have an audience in the hundreds of thousands, a host who understands the importance of content to an advertiser, and someone who thinks PodcastOne is a good place to be.

JM: What has been the biggest hurdle you’ve encountered so far in launching and growing the platform? How did you overcome it?

NP: Having the experience of launching and building Westwood One has helped a lot because the hurdles are similar. In the early days, the radio syndication business was very much like podcasting is today, lacking reliable metrics, general visibility, and players with critical mass. Advertisers haven’t gotten what they required to get comfortable with the medium, which has resulted in major brands with a lack of knowledge and interest.

But it hasn’t been that difficult to overcome. I’ve got almost 40 years of relationships with associates, advertisers, talent and all the other areas that support them. Plus, in addition to Kit Gray, it helps having Gary Yusko and Greg Batusic, who were with me at Westwood One, as part of the executive management team. And even though the rest of our 25 team members seem like teenagers by comparison, they’re not. They are young, bright, eager and excited to be part of an enterprise that’s radio, audio, and digital all rolled into one with no limits in sight.

JM: What trends are you seeing in the types of content and consumption patterns on PodcastOne?

NP: The trends are no trends, all trends, and no limitations. If there’s a fan base, interest in a subject and the potential of attracting an audience, we’re interested. Comedy and technology launched podcasting when consumption wasn’t the easiest thing. Today, iPhones, Androids, tablets, computers, and Bluetooth make podcasting so simple, mobile and available whenever and wherever the consumer wants to access the content. So, spoken word on demand audio content on any subject — sports, politics, music, lifestyles, entertainment, business, science, the arts, or Snooki’s latest pregnancy — are all out there with millions of social followers and podcast consumers creating billions of impressions for advertisers.

JM: You have some big stars on PodcastOne. How essential is that to the success of a podcast?

NP: When was the last major national star created in radio? It’s been quite a while. National stars are created in podcasting weekly. They come from other mediums, social media, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TV and radio, music and parts unknown. They are unconstrained by formatics, station groups, program directors, and tastemakers. This is audio democracy in its ultimate form. Let the listeners, consumers, and the market decide.

JM: Adam Carolla is probably best known as the first mega-radio star to step away from a successful broadcast career to make his way in the world of podcasting. What’s something we don’t know about him that’s really interesting?

NP: His middle name is “Lakers.” That’s no bull. It’s true. He doesn’t have a middle name and when he went to get his driver’s license, they asked for one. “Lakers” was the first thing that popped into his head. We’ve been in love ever since.

JM: In an LA Times article, you said, “You can’t look at radio as a brick and mortar operation, and consumed on a radio over a certain frequency. That’s a recipe for disaster.” What suggestion could you give broadcasters trying to adapt in this rapidly changing audio environment?

NP: Embrace the change. Make it part of radio and think of the possibilities for local engagement. The old definition of radio shouldn’t exist anymore because growth in that area alone is over. But by embracing the content and making it additive to traditional terrestrial radio, the medium will grow, as will every segment that contributes to it. And stop giving it away as value added; it has significant value on its own.

JM: What do you say to those who claim that monetizing new media – like streaming or podcasting – will never be successful or profitable?

NP: Bullshit!

JM: What is the largest impediment to innovation in the broadcast radio business?

NP: Ownership and debt loads.

JM: What would you say to someone with an innovative idea for radio who isn’t sure how to get it going?

JM: And finally, as a fan who has sat courtside for over 30 years, what kind of innovation do the Lakers need to adopt in order to become an NBA powerhouse again?

NP: I have had such joy being a Lakers fan that it causes me real pain to say that I have no brilliant insight into that subject. Players, coaches, ownership, and I all pray to God that Kobe returns as the player he wants and needs to be to keep fans like me from slitting their throats.

Leo Laporte (Owner and Chief of TWiT.tv) moderates a discussion on the future of podcasting with Norman Pattiz (Founder of Westwood One and PodcastOne) and Noah Shanock (Founder of Stitcher) during the New Media Expo '14 keynote. The discussion centers on the trends and direction of traditional syndicated radio, on-demand audio and audio podcasting.

Three decades of courtside seats at Los Angeles Lakers games gave Westwood One founder Norm Pattiz not just a front-row view of Kobe Bryant--he's built a Rolodex of Hollywood's top names. Now Pattiz is getting his celebrity pals to create talk shows for a venture he began in February, PodcastOne, which sells ads in its free, downloadable radio programs. Read more…

LOS ANGELES, November 4, 2013 - Brandi Glanville, star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," debuts her podcast, Brandi GlanvilleUnfiltered, tomorrow on PodcastOne, the leader in audio on-demand programing and a division of Courtside Entertainment Group. Glanville welcomes actress Jennifer Gimenez and television personality Dr. Will Kirby as her first guests. In addition to interviewing star guests on the one-hour show, Glanville dishes about pop culture, fashion and celebrity gossip. New shows will air on a weekly basis.

"It’s great being the one who gets to ask the questions," said Glanville. "We're making the show entertaining, informative, fun and as spontaneous as possible, so you never know what someone is going to say next."

PodcastOne Chairman/CEO Norm Pattiz said, "Brandi is a natural, in every sense of the word. No thought goes unspoken and what you hear is who she is. She was born for this medium. We're glad to have her at PodcastOne."

About Brandi GlanvilleBrandi Glanville is one of television's most recognizable personalities, a bestselling author, actress and model. Known to millions of fans as the sassy and outspoken star of the reality series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Glanville is also a best-selling author. Her first book, Drinking and Tweeting and Other Brandi Blunders debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list where it remained for 10 consecutive weeks. She's currently working on a second book.

About PodcastOnePodcastOne is the leader in audio on-demand programing and a division of Courtside Entertainment Group. Launched in February, 2013, PodcastOne hosts approximately 200 top podcasts including the ones previously mentioned, as well as Radio Lab, 60 Minutes, Freakonomics Radio, Rooster Teeth, The Nerdist, CBS News, Loveline, Laura Ingraham, Penn Jillette, Ross Tucker, Yahoo! Sports Radio, Ask Women and more at www.PodcastOne.com.

About Courtside Entertainment GroupNorm Pattiz, founder and chairman emeritus of radio giant Westwood One, founded and launched Courtside Entertainment Group (CEG) in 2010. Based in Los Angeles, the company produces and finances multi-platform, quality programming. It's also the radio home for such high profile personalities as Laura Ingraham, Bill O'Reilly, Dr. Drew Pinsky and Ron Paul.

LOS ANGELES, October 17, 2013 -- Sportscaster Dan Patrick partners with PodcastOne, the leader in audio on-demand programing and a division of Courtside Entertainment Group. Patrick's podcast is now available on demand via PodcastOne and is exclusively represented to national advertisers by PodcastOne Sales, the company's in-house rep firm. With exclusive insider access, Patrick brings A-list guests from the world of sports and entertainment to The Dan Patrick Show. Sharing his perspective on pop culture and sports, Patrick also brings a dose of humor to his fans.

"Nobody does sports talk better than Dan Patrick," says PodcastOne Chairman/CEO Norm Pattiz. "Nobody does on demand audio better than we do. So it should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that we're teaming up for the benefit of listeners and advertisers. With the addition of Dan Patrick, the list of stars on the PodcastOne platform has just become significantly brighter."

Dan Patrick is one of America's legendary sports journalists. Patrick spent 18 years at ESPN before pursuing his own independent brand in 2007. Patrick evolved and perfected The Dan Patrick Show over the last six years with the best guests, breaking news, and entertainment.

The Dan Patrick Show is distributed nationally through DIRECTV Entertainment and the weekday radio program can be heard on over 270 affiliate stations and seen on television in over 90 million homes on both DIRECTV's Audience channel and on NBCSN.

Patrick has received multiple awards and nominations for his work. He has won and been nominated multiple times for a Sports Emmy Award, has been named Sportscaster of the Year, won a Marconi award, and has had many more accomplishments. Patrick continues to build upon his independent brand by growing his distribution platforms in radio, TV, digital, magazines and even movies. By continuing to innovate, Patrick remains as one of the leading sports broadcasters and premium brands in the business.

About PodcastOne

PodcastOne is the leader in audio on-demand programing and a division of Courtside Entertainment Group. Launched in February, 2013, PodcastOne hosts approximately 200 top podcasts including the ones previously mentioned, as well as Radio Lab, 60 Minutes, Freakonomics Radio, Rooster Teeth, The Nerdist, CBS News, Loveline, Laura Ingraham, Penn Jillette, Ross Tucker, Yahoo! Sports Radio, Ask Women and more at www.PodcastOne.com.

About Courtside Entertainment Group

Norm Pattiz, founder and chairman emeritus of radio giant Westwood One, founded and launched Courtside Entertainment Group (CEG) in 2010. Based in Los Angeles, the company produces and finances multi-platform, quality programming. It's also the radio home for such high profile personalities as Laura Ingraham, Bill O’Reilly, Dr. Drew Pinsky and Ron Paul.

LOS ANGELES, August 15, 2013 -- As PodcastOne, the leader in audio on-demand programming, continues to expand its offerings, it also refines its message delivery system by partnering with Abacast, a leading provider of streaming, advertising, and audience analytics services for the digital radio industry. With the Abacast Clarity® Digital Radio System, PodcastOne, a division of Courtside Entertainment Group, will provide its clients targeted, relevant ad insertion, campaign management, audience metrics and delivery for live and on-demand digital audio programming. PodcastOne clients can place customized commercials in specific markets thereby geo-targeting listeners and even listener devices.

Courtside Entertainment Group Chairman/CEO Norm Pattiz says, "This is another example of taking advantage of the latest technology to provide the services that advertisers expect. This is consistent with our promise to have the best targeted ad solution in an industry poised for rapid growth. Abacast has demonstrated its ability to provide us with exactly what we need."

Abacast CEO Rob Green says, "Abacast is making a commitment to podcasting by extending its Clarity® Digital Radio System to the podcasting market. We couldn’t be happier to be chosen by PodcastOne, the premier destination for the most popular podcasts on the Internet."

The integrated service will be released in the fourth quarter of 2013.

About AbacastAbacast is a leading provider of streaming, advertising, and audience analytics services for the digital radio industry. Abacast's software and services drive advertising revenue, build listener loyalty, grow audiences, and deliver top-quality user experiences. Abacast was founded in 2000 and currently serves over 200 customers and over 1,000 stations. (http://www.abacast.com)

About Courtside Entertainment GroupFounded by former founder and chairman emeritus of radio giant Westwood One, Norm Pattiz launched Courtside Entertainment Group (CEG) in 2010. Based in Los Angeles, the company produces and finances multi-platform, quality programming and is the radio home for such high profile personalities as Laura Ingraham, Bill O’Reilly, Dr. Drew Pinsky and Ron Paul. Launchpad Digital Media is CEG’s in-house national advertising sales representation firm. PodcastOne is the on-demand audio programming division of CEG that launched in February, 2013.

PodcastOne and Sports USA Media team to bring new programs from Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath, Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, former NFL lineman Ross Tucker and College Football insider Dave Miller to on-demand audio audiences.

LOS ANGELES, August 1, 2013 -- Pro football's first true media superstar, "Broadway" Joe Namath, will begin hosting a new on-demand audio show this fall from PodcastOne and Sports USA Media. PodcastOne also announced other Sports USA Media additions to their growing sports lineup including Conversations with Joe Morgan, The Ross Tucker Football Show and Against the Grain with Dave Miller. All shows will be available on-demand at www.PodcastOne.com, as part of a lineup which includes such personalities as Adam Carolla, Dennis Miller, Ron Paul, Jay Mohr, Penn Jillette, Jillian Michaels, and more.

"Joe Namath invented the sports-media icon as we know it. He knows what it means to break new ground and likes to do things his way. We're a guaranteed perfect fit," said Norm Pattiz, Chairman and Founder of PodcastOne/Launchpad Digital Media. "I am looking forward to working with Bob Moore and the talented team at Sports USA as we create great experiences for listeners and opportunities for advertisers."

"I am excited to again work with Norm Pattiz in bringing great content to listeners across America," said Bob Moore, President Sports USA Media. "Between Namath, Morgan and Pattiz, it truly is a Hall of Fame team."

In addition, The Joe Namath Show, Conversations with Joe Morgan, The Ross Tucker Football Show and Against the Grain with Dave Miller will be exclusively represented for advertising sales by Launchpad Digital Media, PodcastOne’s digital rep firm.

Joe Namath is a sports icon playing for the American Football League's New York Jets for most of his professional career, and elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985. He is known for once boldly guaranteeing a Jets' victory over Don Shula's NFL Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III (1969) and then making good on his prediction with a 16-7 win.

On Conversations with Joe Morgan, the Emmy Award winning broadcaster and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer interviews iconic sports legends and celebrity personalities such as Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Jim Brown, President George H.W. Bush, Julius Irving, Bob Costas, John Madden and Charlie Sheen to name a few. Ross Tucker is the morning host for SiriusXM NFL Radio and a frequent analyst for "Pro Football Talk" on the NBC Sports Network. He has called NFL games for Sports USA since 2008. Against the Grain will feature National Football Post college football editor/ writer and analyst for Campus Insiders, Dave Miller discussing the world of college football.

About PodcastOne

PodcastOne is the new online destination for free discovery and enjoyment of all the best podcasts. Launched in February, PodcastOne is already home to over 200 popular podcasts including CBS News, New York Public Radio, Adam Carolla, Dennis Miller, Ron Paul, Penn Jillette, Laura Ingraham, Maria Menounos, Tom Green, Dr. Drew, Steve Austin, Ask Women and many more. Launchpad Digital Media (www.launchpaddigitalmedia.com) is Courtside Entertainment Groups' digital rep firm representing all PodcastOne programming as well as the many top independent podcasters.

About Sports USA Media

Sports USA Media is the largest independent national syndicator of live play-by-play sports in America. The company broadcasts an NFL doubleheader every Sunday throughout the regular season and a College Football Game of the Week every Saturday. Sports USA is also the home of “Conversations with Joe Morgan,” hosted by the legendary baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Emmy Award winner, and Ross Tucker's Weekly NFL podcast.